Lawsuit Limbo

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Splits and Caps Daily: Action for Agents

May 26, 2025

📈 Market Move:

Settled, But Not Safe

Another day, another massive real estate lawsuit inching closer to the finish line.

After months of legal mudslinging between lawyers in two dueling commission lawsuits (Hooper in Georgia vs. Gibson in Missouri), a federal judge just gave preliminary approval to settlements from eXp, Weichert, and a couple smaller brokerages.

Here’s the play-by-play:

• eXp is coughing up $34M, Weichert is tossing in $8.5M, and two local players (Mark Spain and Atlanta Communities) added another $1.55M.

• That’s $44M more in the pot, pushing the total commissions-lawsuit settlement fund over the $1B mark. (Yes, billion.)

• The holdup? Gibson lawyers said eXp and Weichert were “settling on the cheap” by cherry-picking more agreeable plaintiffs in Georgia. Georgia lawyers said, “Nah — you just want a bigger cut.”

Judge Cohen shut that down, said everyone can object later, and scheduled the final approval hearing for October 28.

Translation for agents and brokers:
The dominos are still falling. These settlements aren’t just legal noise — they’re reshaping how buyer agent commissions might work going forward. eXp’s move? Pay to move on. Smart play… if you’ve got $34M lying around.

🌟Quote of the Day:

"Success doesn’t come to you. You go to it." — Marva Collins

📊🤔 Agent Poll Results

On 5/23, we asked: How do you really feel about the MLS crackdown?

The results are in!

• 🟢 Love it. Level playing field. No more shadow games: 55.6%

• 🟡 Meh. I get it… but it feels like overreach: 33.3%

• 🔴 Hate it. It’s messing with my strategy and client flow: 11.1%

• 🟣 Wait, what crackdown? (No judgment. Maybe a little.): 0%

Lots of opinions! Appreciate your insight, as always!

🎉 Fun Fact of the Day: 

Crust Comps?: There’s a Zillow Listing with a Pizza Oven in Every Room. A luxury Scottsdale home had custom wood-fired ovens in the kitchen, patio… and primary suite. That’s amore (or a grease fire).

📚 Book Recommendation:

“Anything You Want” by Derek Sivers—This book is like startup espresso — short, strong, and hits you fast.

Derek Sivers built CD Baby (sold it for $22M) and this is the no-BS highlight reel of how he did it without chasing VC money, hypergrowth, or some bro-in-a-hoodie founder fantasy. He’s the anti-hustle guru who just did the work, stayed weird, and made a fortune doing it his way.

Every page has something that’ll either punch you in the face or make you say, “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?”

Quick takeaways:

• You don’t need a big plan. Just solve your own problem.

• Customers are your compass — listen to them, obsess over them.

• Business isn’t about money. It’s about creating something that makes people happy (including you).

It’s 90 pages. You’ll finish it before your next coffee cools.

Build leverage now so future-you can chill harder.

What did you think of today’s edition?
Hit ‘reply’ to this email and let us know!

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